sfsfsfgiants wrote:The percentages dont say everything. A lot of the threes that he takes are forced because of the shot clock. I will rephraise how I said this: when he chooses to shoot the three, it goes in. He has a shot if he is wide open. He does need to work on it, though.

The percentages say he scores 1 each 4 shots he takes. If they're forced or not it's a different debate, and one that should involve the whole team (why is he in that position, to began with?. Shoudln't be Baron the one that takes those forced shots?).

Baron normally takes them, an indication of his sometimes poor three point percentage. Monta will occassionaly shoot it though, if they are denying Baron the ball. I dont like him shooting those contested threes, though.

CjR wrote: I’m speaking specifically on games we have comfortable leads (even blowouts), when Nelson does not rest Baron. The most recent was the Cleveland game where he played all 48 minutes. This game was a classic example, despite having a huge lead (near 30). How can one justify 48 minutes? So long as most starters are in there (definitely Jackson and Monta), I’m fine with it. Resting players is what all coaches do—and I’d rather risk a little momentum than risk the entire season, given Baron’s history of injuries, demands of his position, and our high-energy style of play. Because if he can’t rest him in those types of games, when will he ever rest him?

True, I agree, but I've seen enough games to know that no lead is ever safe. (Tell that to San Antonio up 10+ with a lil over a minute left only to have T-Mac beat them) I know its an exception, but Nelly is probably thinking that his Bench is simply NOT good good enough to control the tempo of the game. I love Sjax and Monta but when the team is in a funk it is Baron who controls and lead us to victory. I fully agree with you, that Baron NEEDS to be rested so it up to Mullin to get a back up PG to the satisfactory of Nelly.

Sure, and likewise, I've seen all games except against the Pistons, and from what I've seen, Baron could have been rested in many different instances--even just for a minute or two and combined with a timeout or end of a quarter. And early on, when Jax was out with his suspension, Nelly rode him really hard in those games. His jukes, cuts, and jumps are not there now, and even on breakaways (just last night), he hasn't been dunking--and really I don't want him to, if not necessary.

But I definitely agree that we need a good back-up PG to give him those extra few minutes of rest. No lead is ever safe for us, but that's because we get into funks where our outside shots don't fall, get sloppy with the ball, and/or get lazy on D. The key is for controlled plays and pound the ball inside (w/ more set plays) when Baron is resting to slow down the tempo (basically, high percentage and get to the foul line, and maybe get some and 1s). We don't have to go full bore at all times; we have to learn to downshift, at times.

sfsfsfgiants wrote:He picks and chooses his threes. When he does shoot them, he normally makes them.

He's shooting below .250. That's not the percentage of someone that normally makes them. At least, as you say, he's smart enough to not take those shots.

He's taking one three a game so it is not a major stat. If he shot more of them, especially setting up and someone giving him the ball, he'd probably shoot better. He takes thirteen shots in total from the field and only one of them is a three

sfsfsfgiants wrote:He picks and chooses his threes. When he does shoot them, he normally makes them.

He's shooting below .250. That's not the percentage of someone that normally makes them. At least, as you say, he's smart enough to not take those shots.

He's taking one three a game so it is not a major stat. If he shot more of them, especially setting up and someone giving him the ball, he'd probably shoot better. He takes thirteen shots in total from the field and only one of them is a three

Monta shot several 3s earlier in the season and couldn't make them for crap (always short). That's why his % is still so low, since those are greatly weighing it down. He stopped for a while, but the last few stretch of games, he's been shooting them, but selectively, and that % is an entirely different story. Bottom line: he's been making most of them, as of late.

sfsfsfgiants wrote:He picks and chooses his threes. When he does shoot them, he normally makes them.

He's shooting below .250. That's not the percentage of someone that normally makes them. At least, as you say, he's smart enough to not take those shots.

He's taking one three a game so it is not a major stat. If he shot more of them, especially setting up and someone giving him the ball, he'd probably shoot better. He takes thirteen shots in total from the field and only one of them is a three

Monta shot several 3s earlier in the season and couldn't make them for crap (always short). That's why his % is still so low, since those are greatly weighing it down. He stopped for a while, but the last few stretch of games, he's been shooting them, but selectively, and that % is an entirely different story. Bottom line: he's been making most of them, as of late.

That's what I thought, he isn't too bad at shooting them but he drives alot more and creates and that team needs him to do that more than anything

CjR wrote:Monta shot several 3s earlier in the season and couldn't make them for crap (always short). That's why his % is still so low, since those are greatly weighing it down. He stopped for a while, but the last few stretch of games, he's been shooting them, but selectively, and that % is an entirely different story. Bottom line: he's been making most of them, as of late.

Might be. I usually miss most games against crappy teams, and the ones I've seen, he didn't shoot well from 3pt land. At least he didn't shoot much.

CjR wrote:Monta shot several 3s earlier in the season and couldn't make them for crap (always short). That's why his % is still so low, since those are greatly weighing it down. He stopped for a while, but the last few stretch of games, he's been shooting them, but selectively, and that % is an entirely different story. Bottom line: he's been making most of them, as of late.

Might be. I usually miss most games against crappy teams, and the ones I've seen, he didn't shoot well from 3pt land. At least he didn't shoot much.

Of course, I can only talk from the games I've seen...

TMC, I have to correct myself here.

Monta went 0 for 7 in his first attempts of 3s (the first 3 games), which is what alluding to in skewing his stats. However, after researching his attempts in December (not counting tonight’s game), he’s only 2-8 total in December (25%), which is a surprisingly low number of shots made. I’ve only missed a game, and I was almost sure he’s made more than that recently, but apparently not. I do remember an instance or maybe two where they only gave him a two since his foot was on the line, but I don’t recall any more than that.

Anyhow, I do share the perception with SF3 that he’s been pretty accurate with his 3s recently. It’s just surprising to actually see the numbers logged. Last month, he did go 3-4 against the Cavs very early on and 2-4 against the Sixers, but most the time, he either doesn’t shoot it or just takes 1 shot. Anyhow, I had to correct myself.

CjR wrote:Monta shot several 3s earlier in the season and couldn't make them for crap (always short). That's why his % is still so low, since those are greatly weighing it down. He stopped for a while, but the last few stretch of games, he's been shooting them, but selectively, and that % is an entirely different story. Bottom line: he's been making most of them, as of late.

Might be. I usually miss most games against crappy teams, and the ones I've seen, he didn't shoot well from 3pt land. At least he didn't shoot much.

Of course, I can only talk from the games I've seen...

TMC, I have to correct myself here.

Monta went 0 for 7 in his first attempts of 3s (the first 3 games), which is what alluding to in skewing his stats. However, after researching his attempts in December (not counting tonight’s game), he’s only 2-8 total in December (25%), which is a surprisingly low number of shots made. I’ve only missed a game, and I was almost sure he’s made more than that recently, but apparently not. I do remember an instance or maybe two where they only gave him a two since his foot was on the line, but I don’t recall any more than that.

Anyhow, I do share the perception with SF3 that he’s been pretty accurate with his 3s recently. It’s just surprising to actually see the numbers logged. Last month, he did go 3-4 against the Cavs very early on and 2-4 against the Sixers, but most the time, he either doesn’t shoot it or just takes 1 shot. Anyhow, I had to correct myself.

I just didn't remember a good shooting game since that one against Cleveland, and checked the game log stats on the ESPN site, to check the games I wasn't able to see. And, in the whole month of december, he has avoided shooting 3s. There's not a single game in which he has shot more than 2, and usually only one per game. Actually, he hasn't taken more than one 3pt shot in the last 13 games, and he didn't shoot a single one in 7 of those games.

That only says that he doesn't have much confidence in his shot... which is not a bad thing in itself. Wade is one of the biggest stars of the league and also lacks a 3pt shot.

It also proves that the kid's smart and doesn't try to do too much. I'm sure that, once his shot develops, he'll start using it more. And if not, no biggie. The most important thing is that he keeps finding ways to contribute.